The Arrival (3 points)

 I think what impacted me the most from The Arrival is the familiarity of the story to the experience my parents, and probably many other immigrants, had when coming to America. I think it encapsulates the various struggles that come with acclimating to a new culture, along with the reasons why someone would leave their home for a foreign land; whether it be to escape war like the old man in the factory on page 85 or slavery like the girl on the air boat on page 52. The main character leaves his home in search of opportunity and from fear of the imposing threat of the spiked creature that has taken over his home country. He goes to a foreign land to earn enough money and stability to allow his whole family to come as well. This reminded me a lot of my dad’s immigration to the US from Vietnam. He was the first to come over in his family, running from the threat of the war. He was only 17 and faked his identity to board a ship in the US, which is similar to the main character who also arrived by boat. My dad was alone, and could only talk to his family through letters, just as the main character did shown on page 100. It took years for my dad to go through college and medical school, to get a stable job as a doctor and act as a sponsor to bring his mom and two sisters over. My dad barely spoke any English, just as the main character had trouble communicating to people in the foreign land. This is shown in various points of the story such as when he is being processed to enter the country on page 28 and when he is looking for a place to stay and has to draw a picture to communicate on page 38.